Smoke Before Wind
by Ninxa Ra'wen
Summary: Old enemies return with new power and strength and this time the ronins know that they have no chance of winning. On top of this, the ronins must deal with a soul stealing demon spirit on a rampage and a seemingly irreversibly cursed leader. Who will ha


*Disclaimer: I don't own Ronin Warriors, however all original characters are mine, please ask if you want to use them, mainly because I want the ego boost of knowing that someone actually liked my characters! ^__^ Keep in mind that many aspects of this story have been inspired by other anime, movies and shows, such as: Princess Mononoke, Harry Potter, and Scooby Doo the movie (no, I'm not kidding) I don't own any of these either. The title comes from a poem entitled "What I Expected" by Stephen Spender (which I don't own). However, upon the completion of this sentence I believe I will own the longest disclaimer in RW fanfic history.*  
  
  
  
"Smoke Before Wind"  
  
By: Ninxa Ra'wen  
  
  
  
Just once I'd like to be the bearer of good news, she thought as she rang the doorbell Just once.  
  
Mia's smile beamed as she opened the door. "Kayura! It's so good to see you! Won't you come in?"  
  
"I'm afraid this isn't a pleasure visit, Mia." Kayura said as neutrally as possible as she stepped inside.  
  
When Mia's happy smile faded and she gave a weak nod, Kayura could see that she knew.  
  
"I'll...I'll get the guys."  
  
* * * *  
  
15 of the hardest minutes of her life later, Kayura was seated, surrounded by the Ronins, and participating in a painful, shocked silence.  
  
"Are you sure?" came a somewhat unsteady voice.  
  
Kayura smiled to herself in spite of the situation. Cye was forever the pacifist, trying to avoid violence if it was at all possible.  
  
"Unfortunately, yes." Came her soft reply. Her discomforting news had the whole group stunned into silence. Cye looked shocked, horrified and frightened all at once, it was clearly written upon his face. Kento was angry, as was his response to many things. Rowen looked surprised and a bit confused, Kayura felt she could literally see the wheels turning in his head as the young genius analyzed and reanalyzed, trying to determine where they had gone wrong, how this could have happened.  
  
But Kayura knew something that he did not. She knew that they done nothing wrong, they had merely been fighting a hopeless war, one that they could not possibly have won. A war that was soon to begin again.  
  
Sage's response to the news was unreadable thus far, however, the final Ronin was the one she was truly concerned about. If he broke, they all did, and he had been so very close to the breaking point the last time. She was almost glad that she couldn't currently see his face; she almost didn't want to see his reaction. Didn't want to see the mask of pain and concern descend once again upon a face she had watched lighten up and begin to truly laugh and smile again over the past few months. Would this be the time he broke? The one-time leader was currently leaning forward, his elbows on his knees while his hands supported his downward turned face and cupped over his brow, hiding his expression from view.  
  
Silence reigned a few moments longer, and then:  
  
"It just isn't fair!" Kento's cry startled everyone, except, Kayura noticed, Ryo, who didn't move, didn't even flinch.  
  
"Of course it isn't fair." Rowen said logically.  
  
"But it is our duty." Sage finished.  
  
"I just can't quite believe we have to do this again." the overwhelmed Cye said.  
  
"I know! I can't believe this, man!" Kento pounded a fist into the couch beside him in frustration "Just what does it take to beat this guy anyway?!"  
  
"I'm afraid." Kayura cleared her throat, summoning up her courage; This isn't going to be fun. How do you tell someone they've been wasting their life, anyway? She stole a glance at Ryo, who had yet to move. How would he take this one? "I'm afraid nothing that any of you has."  
  
They were stunned speechless for a moment and then:  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"What do you mean, Kayura?"  
  
Kayura looked at them all Just once, that's all I ask! "I've recently spoken with the dimensional guardians of our two worlds and they informed me that-" she took a deep breath, "that, in order to truly defeat Talpa, I mean, in order to kill him, you must be one of his kin."  
  
Silence reigned once again.  
  
"I get it." Sage said as he leaned back in his chair, his bitterness evident, "so basically what you're trying to tell us is that we have absolutely no way of beating him. That we never had any way of beating him, and that all the years we spent fighting him, were a waste of our lives."  
  
Kayura could think of nothing to answer this. His words rang painfully true.  
  
"And now..." Cye's timid voice began "you want us to do it again?"  
  
For some reason, this comment stung her the most "It's.different this time." Her excuse sounded pathetic even in her own ears.  
  
"Yeah right." Kento scoffed. Unable to stay still, he was now standing about the room, trying to get a grasp on what was going on.  
  
"How is it different?" Cye asked.  
  
Kayura glanced yet again at the forever silent leader. Anything would be better than this not knowing how he felt, not knowing if she could count on him to carry them through. "I found Talpa's sister deep within the Dynasty." Couldn't he show anything? Not even a bit of hope at this new bit of information? "She was believed to have been killed centuries ago, but I found her living in a pacifist's colony."  
  
"Pacifist's colony? That proposes a problem, doesn't it? I mean, seeing as we want her to kill her brother." Even the logical Rowen's voice was laced with sarcasm and bitterness towards her.  
  
"It is a bit complex," she said lamely, "that's why I need your help." For some reason, she found herself having the most difficulty keeping eye contact.she couldn't bring herself to look these people in the eye. How dare she come to them yet again? How dare she ask them for anything more than she already had? What right had she to come to them? These people who had suffered so much, who had fought so hard, who had sacrificed so much.what right had she to ask them to do it all again?  
  
For the first time since the conversation began, Ryo looked up and met her gaze squarely. It hurt her something terrible to see the old familiar cloud of concern and responsibility had descended upon his face, but she also recognized, what was it? Something...something familiar...something comfortingly familiar was in those eyes...then suddenly, in an instant, she knew what it was: it was the infamous flame of wildfire, alight and burning once again.  
  
"What do you need us to do?"  
  
God help the man who chose to oppose them.  
  
  
  
A/N: For those of you who are interested, the title of this story came from a poem that I had to interpret in English about war and the differences people have between their expectations of what war will be like and what it actually turns out to be. The line in the poem that says, "smoke before wind" I took to mean that war must come before change, the "smoke" being war and the "wind" being the winds of change. This is NOT a reference to some lame new armor appearing later in the fic. Just wanted to clarify that! Ok, I'm done rambling now, I promise! ^__~ Thanks for reading!  
  
Oh, btw! = thoughts 


End file.
